Briggy said: GREETINGS FB FAMILY....BRIGGY HERE SENDING OUT LOTS OF LOVE AND THANKS TO THE FAMILY MEMBERS WHO CAME OUT TO CLUB AMAZURA IN SUPPORT OF THE 'REEWIND DANCE' THIS PAST SATURDAY NIGHT. THANKS SO MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT. BIG UP THE PROMOTERS 'IRISH & CHIN" FOR HELPING TO KEEP 'CONSCIOUS ARTIST AND REAL REGGAE MUSIC ALIVE'. THE SHOW WAS GREAT!!!....ALL THE ARTISTS PERFORMANCE WAS FILLED WITH POSITIVE VIBES. LOOK FORWARD TO THE NEXT 'REEWIND DANCE'...UNTIL THEN RASTAFARI BLESSINGS ALWAYS....Briggy..

They said Sturgav played well, but Addies played too many dubplates with not enough artist time, and Jah Love (Ilawi) couldn't sort out his laptop. "They" includes the promoter himself.
I think the videos are supposed to be up on irishandchin.com this weekend.

QuoteDiesel
in Chico if I have no band I have no audience. Is the rest of California like this?

Just my two cents because you asked & I have done shows (both live & DJ) for 22 years now in several areas of Cali...

YES! (short answer)

Only DJs prefer DJ shows in Cali: the majority of Cali based reggae fans are so used to a live band (in ANY genre), they will bitch LOUD when there isn't a live band (even if you book a live band that totally sucks & isn't anything CLOSE to reggae, the majority WILL prefer it to any DJ show).

FEW on the West Coast actually SUPPORT DJ SHOWS, even after they run their mouths beforehand about how much "they will support it if you just book it & set it all up." Californians are now used to the dumbed down version of reggae that we've held on the West Coast for too long, plus this "Cali Roots" garbage has pretty much pushed out anything lagit over the past few years.

Only DJs want DJ shows, mainly cuz they wanna be seen onstage by 'fans' so they will feel as if they are actually part of the nonexisting "JA reggae movement," while the West Coast is still the furthest thing from it, both in live reggae music, and & DJ shows...

Wanna make money & have a grip of people out? Book Groundation or The Green or Rebelution and don't spin one single track: you'll sell the show out because people on the West Coast now think THAT is reggae & after the last 6-10 years of being told that it IS regage by certain promoters getting SUPER PAID, fans want only THAT. Fans are NOT what they were 10 years ago: fans now have 100% lost any exposure of JA culture, stage show culture, and expecially DJ/ Sound System culture.

PS: This rule also is true for WOMEN ARTISTS. With the exception of Sister Carol shows, NOBODY wants to attend shows where females dominate a microphone (again, just my two cents after 22 years of promoting). Too many shows I booked at the request of my market, who rarely put their money where their mouths are.

Reggae as an actual career has never seemed viable for anybody I've known in the scene, on either coast (and in the middle) of the US for the 35+ years that I've been around it. As several have said to me about music production/promotion in this genre: "The way to make a small fortune in reggae is to start with a large one."

And as my granny who ran a small town tavern her whole life told me often, "The money is in the drinks."

Reggae as an actual career has never seemed viable for anybody I've known in the scene, on either coast (and in the middle) of the US for the 35+ years that I've been around it. As several have said to me about music production/promotion in this genre: "The way to make a small fortune in reggae is to start with a large one."

And as my granny who ran a small town tavern her whole life told me often, "The money is in the drinks."

Quoteechodelic
I've been doing dj based shows for 10+ years , and with many of the same artists on that bill.

Echodelic... I think every reggae DJ in California wishes our reggae night was as packed as yours. You have the best dancehall on the west coast. Your spot might be the best place for a dance like this or just bringing some of the artists over that don't make it here. One of us promoters need to bring out Charlie Capplin and Josey Wales.

It is true what DJ Spleece says that some people expect bands, even bad bands, and are mad about just a selector. I have had complaints and for sure I've had nights in Ventura and other places where they just didn't get it. Which seems so odd to me when DJs are so accepted in dubstep,EDM etc. Soundsystem culture is really booming in Europe now, maybe it will filter back here too.

Cali reggae pushed out ?? I f I say this I get thought to be racist! SOJA sold out the Uptown theater in a small town called sonoma Nov 10th with out any snwmf board promotion/ Some body's supporting something! I told a said well known DJ I was trying to bring Everton Blender to Hawaii /Maui and asked him could he help promote it ?when I said it would be a live band show conversation ended/Who's supporting what? Thrive? is opening for Barrington Levy @the Mystic in Petaluma how did they get on the bill?? Questions more than answers?

QuoteRootikal
Cali reggae pushed out ?? I f I say this I get thought to be racist! SOJA sold out the Uptown theater in a small town called sonoma Nov 10th with out any snwmf board promotion/ Some body's supporting something! I told a said well known DJ I was trying to bring Everton Blender to Hawaii /Maui and asked him could he help promote it ?when I said it would be a live band show conversation ended/Who's supporting what? Thrive? is opening for Barrington Levy @the Mystic in Petaluma how did they get on the bill?? Questions more than answers?

SOJA donesnt need any help from this message board to sell out a show. In fact its the other way around. Sierra Nevada needed SOJA (Or Rebelution) to sell more tickets and bring the CA reggae crowd. SOJA have a great promotion team and the fans them selves seem to do most of the promotion themselves on Social Media pages. The same is not true for JA Reggae acts. How much money do they put into Facebook Adds or ADDs in anything. Most Reggae artists don't even have up to date social media pages.

Thrive got the opening because they are the local reggae act in Petaluma. At least one of the members grew up there.

Folks, please forgive the very tardy reply as it's been quite some time since I've viewed this board.

I was in the building for Reeewind last month and it was quite a memorable dance.

I arrived at 12:45 a.m. which is usually "early juggling" time at Amazura. To my surprise Luciano, Charlie Chaplin and U-Roy were on stage with Stur Gav. They did about half an hour. After some contemporary tunes from the selector Sister Nancy appeared on Jah Love for a nice segment that also featured Brigadier Jerry. Then King Addies came on for a great 80's dancehall segment with an engetic Yellowman and a reunited Michigan and Smiley. (Gen. Smiley mentioned that he was happy to be out of jail.)

The night concluded with a lengthy Stur Gav reprise with all the artists on the bill passing the mic around until the venue put the lights on at 4:30 a.m.

I really enjoyed getting to see Luciano and Yellowman perform on a sound after seeing them with bands many times over the years. And you can't go wrong with Briggy and Charlie Chaplin. U-Roy didn't spend as much time on the mic as I would have liked but at least he showed up, unlike his prior Amazura booking in which his lack of appearance wasn't announced until 4 a.m.

Since I'm not a sound system expert and was mostly interested in seeing the performers I apparently enjoyed this dance more than the promoter, who took to his blog to rang about what he thought were poor showings by some of the veteran sound operators:

I did notice from the videos that the artists made the Jah Love set what it was, and Ilawi killed the vibes several times by queing in a riddim at the wrong time. Perhaps they should've used turntables & vinyl if they truly wanted a "rewind" experience.
Anyway, thanks for the review.

Amazura is a tough venue for Jah Love. Three years ago it presented a self-promoted pre-Christmas dance that flopped badly -- maybe 100 patrons in a venue that can hold thousands, and there seemed to be no heat on inside the building despite the chilly December weather outside. Headliner Barrington Levy interrupted his segment to complain that "at this point in my career I really need my band with me." (And a year or two later he was back on a sound at the same venue for a Reewind dance!)